Farmers Cooperative

Declaration of Rights and Liberties of the Freeholders and Homesteaders of the Firelands

Adopted this 15th day of Amesh, Year 517  

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Preamble

We, the undersigned settlers, farmers, and freeholders residing within the Firelands Territory, being aggrieved by the encroachments, injustices, and heavy-handedness of certain associations of landed wealth and influence, do solemnly assemble to assert and defend our lawful rights and the common welfare of all who till, build, and make honest homes upon this soil.
 

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Article I — Right to Homestead

1. All persons lawfully settled upon land in the Firelands have the right to peaceably possess, cultivate, and improve their homesteads without fear of unlawful eviction, seizure, or intimidation.
2. No organization or association, however styled, shall abridge the basic right to make a home or cultivate the land for honest livelihood.
 

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Article II — Equal Justice

1. All homesteaders shall be entitled to protection under the law regardless of wealth, title, or standing.
2. No person or body shall exercise private justice, vigilantism, or extralegal reprisals against any settler for pursuing lawful claims or grievances.
 

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Article III — Access to Water and Range

1. The common use of watercourses, grazing lands, and trails for household and smallholder stock shall not be monopolized by any association, but preserved for the fair use of all settlers in good standing.
2. Efforts to fence off, poison, or restrict access to vital springs, rivers, or public grazing routes, to the detriment of homesteads, are declared unlawful and injurious to the common good.
 

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Article IV — Right of Assembly and Petition

1. Homesteaders have the right to peaceably gather, form associations, and petition local or territorial authorities for remedy of grievances and the protection of their persons and property.
2. Retaliation against lawful assembly or petition shall be treated as an assault upon the liberties of all.
 

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Article V — Sovereignty and Self-Government

1. Homestead communities reserve the right to elect their own officers, establish local councils, and enact rules and customs suitable to their needs, consistent with law and justice.
2. No outside body may override these rights except in strict accordance with the laws of the Territory and upon fair hearing.
 

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Article VI — Resistance to Tyranny

1. Should the rights and liberties herein set forth be threatened or denied by force or intrigue, it is the solemn right and duty of all freeholders to unite in their mutual defense by all honorable means necessary.
 

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  Resolved and declared by the signatories hereunder, for themselves and all similarly situated homesteaders and settlers across the Firelands. *(List of founding homesteader names and simple “X” marks here)*